Little progress in reparations for victims of Peru's political violence.

AutorJana, Elsa Chanduvi

Ten years after the Comision de la Verdad y Reconciliacion (CVR) issued its report on human rights violations committed during the internal armed conflict that ravaged Peru from 1980 to 2000 (NotiSur, Sept. 12, 2003), the recommendations to ensure truth, justice, and reparation for tens of thousands of victims and their family members are still on the table.

"Ten years ago, on Aug. 28, 2003, the CVR turned in its Final Report to the country, detailing the tragedy of thousands of families and presenting numerous proposals to overcome the violence, which to this day have not been fully addressed. The general conclusion is that, ten years later, the victims of serious human rights violations, the vast majority of whom are poor and from the most remote regions, have yet to receive proper, timely attention from the state," the Defensoria del Pueblo said in its report on progress, setbacks, and challenges in the process (A diez anos de verdad, justicia y reparacion. Avances, retrocesos y desafios de un proceso inconcluso).

The CVR's recommendations to promote truth, justice, and reconciliation include structural reform of the armed forces, police, and judicial system; individual and collective reparations for victims; and a national plan for forensic investigations to find and identify victims, establish the cause of death, and identify the perpetrators.

At the presentation of the report, acting Defensor del Pueblo Eduardo Vega Luna pointed to steps forward in the last decade, including a law recognizing the status of absence due to forced disappearance, a law creating a comprehensive plan for reparations (NotiSur, April 3, 2009), the creation of a single registry of victims (Registro Unico de Victimas, RUV), the implementation of programs for collective reparations and individual financial reparations, and the creation of the Place of Remembrance, to name a few (NotiSur, July 30, 2010). However, he said, "there are still serious problems and delays, gridlock, and even, in some cases, setbacks in responding to demands by the victims of violence for truth, justice, and reparation."

The Defensoria reported that, from 2007 to 2013, collective reparation projects were funded in 1,892 communities affected by political violence, or 33% of the total. The amount budgeted for the program has gradually been decreasing, from 54 million nuevos soles (US$19.3 million) in 2009 to 10 million (US$3.6 million) this year. No project has been implemented for...

Para continuar leyendo

Solicita tu prueba

VLEX utiliza cookies de inicio de sesión para aportarte una mejor experiencia de navegación. Si haces click en 'Aceptar' o continúas navegando por esta web consideramos que aceptas nuestra política de cookies. ACEPTAR